Sunday, February 14, 2016

The India Express opens an article about three young girls who sell flowers at a metro station in Delhi.

“…he that dares not grasp the thorn should never crave the rose,” wrote British poet Anne Brontë in ‘The Narrow Way’. Words from this 19th century poet still hold true today for the mother of the three underage girls trying to eke out a living by selling roses on the trendier side of sector-18 metro. (Shreya Das)

The show in itself, however, was not as enjoyable as the clear enthusiasm and dedication inspiring it.The story is based off of Charlotte Brontë’s novel of the same name, and is told by an elderly Lucy Snowe as she looks back on the course of her life from childhood to adulthood. Paulette St-Amour plays the older Lucy, and does an admirable job of playing a classic narrator with a gentle voice that doesn’t overpower the action, though it does sometimes get lost in the busy stage. She also has an impassioned final monologue, which I thoroughly enjoyed.One problem that was quickly evident was the old trap of thinking that doing a period piece means the characters must always be stiff, formal, and as devoid of emotion as much as possible. Due to this, most of the actors seemed more like they were reciting a script than actually talking with one another. (Maighdlin Mahoney)

The Telegraph & Argus remembers that Northern Ballet is going to premiere a new production of Jane Eyre this year:

Northern Ballet will perform a new dance version of classic novel Jane Eyre as part of its new season.The Leeds-based theatre company will present Cathy Marston’s imagining of Charlotte Brontë’s novel, along with adaptations of other classic tales.(...)Marking the 200th anniversary of Charlotte Brontë’s birth, Northern Ballet will hold the world premiere of Jane Eyre at Cast in Doncaster in May before touring to Richmond, Aylesbury, Wolverhampton, Stoke and Leicester.Northern Ballet describes Jane Eyre as the ultimate dramatic tale of romance, jealousy and dark secrets, and a story of one woman’s indomitable spirit overcoming all boundaries. (David Knights)

If you look long and hard enough, you will probably find fan fiction to pander to all your shipping fantasies, no matter how unlikely or bizarre you think they are. But failing that, perhaps it’s time you write your own. After all, you can’t be the only one who has fantasised about Jane Eyre and Elizabeth Bennett abandoning their macho he-men and setting up house together in Bath. (Daphne Lee)

The Yorkshire Post presents a walk between Yarnbury and Hebden Circular:

Starting from the quintessential Dales town of Grassington the route quickly strikes up the hillside to the remote and well-named farmstead of Bare House, which conjures up the atmosphere of Wuthering Heights.

Valentine's Day mentions now. Let's take a deep breath and get to it:

Your V-day readsWuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Although disdained on publication for its “vulgar depravity” and difficult characters, no one can beat the romance between Catherine Earnshaw and the gypsy Heathcliff with whom she feels a love as eternal as the rocks beneath the moor. (The Deccan Herald)

The Top 13 songs to have steamy sensul goth sex for Valentine's Day (...)
Type O Negative - " Black No.1 (Little Miss Scare-All)'
Fronted by big-dicked problematic fave Peter Steele, Type O Negative was one of the only decent gothic metal bands. Riffity riffs and mosh pits don’t lend themselves to Wuthering Heights reenactment for the most part. But Steele’s rumbling baritone and love of wry high drama made him a lovely leading man in any discerning metal-leaning witch’s wet dream. Just keep politics off the table in lieu of your butt. (Zachary Lipez) (Translation)

And what does it say that those love stories deemed the greatest of all time — “Romeo and Juliet,” “Antony and Cleopatra,” “Wuthering Heights” and, please forgive me, “A Star is Born” — also are the saddest? (Caroline Dohack in Columbia Daily Times)

The 10 most un-romantic literary couples. (...) 3. Catherine and Heathcliff (“Wuthering Heights”)If you choose not to marry the guy you love, completely of your volition, it’s just rude to haunt him in the afterlife. (The Western Herald)

Did Romeo and Juliet, Cathy and Heathcliff, have more than love-sickness in common? It’s highly likely that they shared something else: an imbalance in their brain chemistry. Specifically, too much dopamine and too little serotonin. (Val Burns)